Obama Praises Voting Rights Protesters' Faith in God, America

50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma:

U.S.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama (2nd L) hold hands
with former President George W Bush (R) and former first lady Laura
Bush (L) and U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) during commemoration of the
50th anniversary of the 'Bloody Sunday' historical civil rights march at
the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 2015.

Standing
on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the city of Selma in Alabama, where
voting rights demonstrators braved police assault, galvanizing the civil
rights movement 50 years ago, President Obama spoke to a crowd of
thousands Saturday, praising their faith in God and America.
"The
air was thick with doubt, anticipation, and fear. They comforted
themselves with the final verse of the final hymn they sung: No matter
what may be the test, God will take care of you; Lean, weary one, upon
His breast, God will take care of you," Obama said, describing the event
50 years ago, according to the transcript of his speech published by The Washington Post.
The
president, who was joined by First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters
Sasha and Malia, called it "a contest to determine the meaning of
America."

Talking
about civil rights leader John Lewis, Obama said, "His knapsack stocked
with an apple, a toothbrush, a book on government — all you need for a
night behind bars — John Lewis led them out of the church on a mission
to change America."
Obama said the anniversary was a time to honor
the courage of ordinary Americans "willing to endure billy clubs and
the chastening rod; tear gas and the trampling hoof; men and women who
despite the gush of blood and splintered bone would stay true to their
North Star and keep marching toward justice."
The president said
the marchers did as Scripture instructed: "Rejoice in hope, be patient
in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
"And in the days to come,
they went back again and again. When the trumpet call sounded for more
to join, the people came — black and white, young and old, Christian and
Jew, waving the American flag and singing the same anthems full of
faith and hope," he said. "A white newsman, Bill Plante, who covered the
marches then and who is with us here today, quipped that the growing
number of white people lowered the quality of the singing. To those who
marched, though, those old gospel songs must have never sounded so
sweet… What enormous faith these men and women had. Faith in God — but
also faith in America."
Obama also said he was asked during the
week whether he thought the Department of Justice's Ferguson report
shows that little has changed. "I understand the question, for the
report's narrative was woefully familiar. It evoked the kind of abuse
and disregard for citizens that spawned the civil rights movement. But I
rejected the notion that nothing's changed. What happened in Ferguson
may not be unique, but it's no longer endemic, or sanctioned by law and
custom; and before the civil rights movement, it most surely was," he
said, referring to the fatal shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by
a white policeman in Missouri a few months ago.
He concluded by
saying, "We honor those who walked so we could run. We must run so our
children soar. And we will not grow weary. For we believe in the power
of an awesome God, and we believe in this country's sacred promise."

(Photo: Reuters/onathan Ernst)

U.S.
President Barack Obama (3rd L) participates in a march across the
Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, March 7, 2015. Also pictured are
first lady Michelle Obama (L), U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-GA)
(2nd L), former first lady Laura Bush (2nd R) and former president
George W. Bush (R). The event comes on the 50th anniversary of the
'Bloody Sunday' march at the bridge, where police and state troopers
beat and used tear gas against peaceful marchers who were advocating
against racial discrimination at the voting booth.

Selma, which had an equal number of whites and blacks in 1965, is now 80 percent black.Los Angeles Times says Selma's white residents today live in an ever-shrinking quarter where antique churches are immaculately preserved.
Jamie Wallace, who was an editor at the Selma Times-Journal at the time, was presented a Living Legend Award by Selma's mayor.
Wallace
was with civil right marchers when they were attacked on Bloody Sunday
on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. He and many other journalists at the time
chose not to give in to pressure from advertisers, subscribers and the
Selma elite to ignore the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the marchers

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